In fine, so we may all be clear, this so-called peace agreement (aka BBL) or ‘shared’ sovereignty rights over 13 provinces in Southern Mindanao with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is what it is – it is not a peace offering to the people of Southern Mindanao but a peace offering to the Barisan Nasional politicos and businessmen of Kuala Lumpur which, if you think about it, is tantamount to giving Peninsular Malaysia license to continue keeping Sabah.”

By Anne de Bretagne
For the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
08 January 2014

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process is very upbeat today: “Malacañan is hopeful the normalization annex of the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement will be signed this month.”

According to the Solar News report, Presidential Communication Secretary Sonny Coloma has announced that ‘peace panels from both the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are now working on drafts and are also carrying out informal consultations on the annex prior to formal talks next week.’

My thoughts off the cuff:

I still don’t understand why the Aquino Govt has deemed it wise to allow Malaysia with whom the Philippines has outstanding territorial and sovereignty disputes to engineer a peace agreement in Southern Mindanao with a Muslim rebel faction that will entitle the same rebel group to lord it over 13 provinces in Southern Mindanao under the direct influence of Malaysia Federation. Can these people in Malacañan NOT SEE that they are authoring the potential dismemberment of the Republic in favour of Kuala Lumpur?

If they are truly for peace and are pro-Southern Mindanao, PH and its leaders should raise the Sabah claim flag today before another bloodbath occurs over this extremely lopsided deal that they are offering to the Southern Mindanao ‘nation’ through the Malaysia-backed Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebel group.

If at all, Mr Aquino and his peace subalterns should instead find an economic and political entente with Putrajaya by proposing an equitable deal involving Sulu rights to Sabah to Sabah that will directly benefit the people of Sulu — and the Sultanate heirs, including the other provinces in the region. Mr Aquino and his lieutenants are forgetting, deliberately so it seems, that the Southern Mindanao ‘nation’ does not comprise merely of 10,000 MILF rebels but of more than 5 million souls from various cultural, political and religious factions.

It is not just ironic, it is also immensely tragic that PH and leaders have decided that instead of facing Kuala Lumpur over the Sabah issue which, as we all know, has been the cause of all the violence and misery among our people in Southern Mindanao, they choose to placate Kuala Lumpur (which we all know has been at the forefront of all the troubles in Mindanao since 1972) by offering the 13 provinces of Southern Mindanao at the altar of “peace” with Malaysia via the Moro Islamic Liberaton Front (MILF).

In fine, so we may all be clear, this so-called peace agreement (aka BBL) or ‘shared’ sovereignty rights over 13 provinces in Southern Mindanao with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is what it is – it is not a peace offering to the people of Southern Mindanao but a peace offering to the Barisan Nasional politicos and businessmen of Kuala Lumpur which, if you think about it, is tantamount to giving Peninsular Malaysia license to continue keeping Sabah.

The big question that Malacanang politicos and their negotiators must try very hard to answer is: Is it worth dismembering the Republic to placate Kuala Lumpur over God knows what?